"Kratom acts as an opioid agonist, similar to Tramadol, providing a mild opiate high," said Michael Hollis with Legacy Freedom Treatment Centers in Charlotte. "The high consists of a small burst of energy with mild euphoric, warming effects. It is often used for its pain relief and anxiolytic properties."

"I eventually got hooked on prescription painkillers at the age of 15. I used those for a while and then got back on Kratom. I gradually came off of the painkillers and started using the Kratom more. It helped me with the withdrawal symptoms and everything. But it was more substituting one addiction for the other."

Health experts say Kratom is by no means the answer to the opioid crisis because it's essentially a member of the opioid family.

"If you take Kratom for an extended period of time, you can become addicted to kratom and then you're back in the same boat that you started in," said Turiya Powell, Substance Abuse Counselor with Legacy Freedom Treatment Centers in Greensboro.

Kratom is banned in six states across the U.S., including Alabama, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana, and Arkansas.

In North Carolina, lawmakers banned Kratom for people under the age of 18.